


Mystery Kids: Wishful Thinking

by MayDayGirl_Save_Our_Ships



Category: Coraline (2009), Gravity Falls, ParaNorman (2012), Psychonauts (Video Games), mystery kids - Fandom
Genre: Gen, Mystery Kids
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:49:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28320426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MayDayGirl_Save_Our_Ships/pseuds/MayDayGirl_Save_Our_Ships
Summary: Neil and Norman take a day off to pet cats. Too bad there is no such things as a day off when you're a Mystery Kid.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 10
Collections: Mystery Kids Case Files





	Mystery Kids: Wishful Thinking

**Author's Note:**

> Secret Santa present for BB! Merry Christmas! I hope you like it!
> 
> Request: Something with just Neil and Norman hanging out!
> 
> I went a little overboard and gave the other mystery kids an appearances as well, but I kept the core of the story about Norman and Neil!

**Wishful Thinking**

**Time Period: Second Summer**

“Where are we going, Neil?” Norman asked as they walked down the streets of the small town of Gravity Falls. 

Neil had suggested that he and Norman do something fun together since the Mystery Kids didn’t have any current missions or mysteries. It wasn’t often that Norman and Neil got some time to hang out together without the other Mystery Kids around. Usually there was a mystery to solve, or Wybie wanted them to try out his new invention, or Dipper asked Norman for help going through his notes, or Ford had been working on a delicate experiment and Stan had interrupted him at the wrong moment forcing everyone evacuate the shack before they were exposed to interdimensional radiation… 

In Gravity Falls, there was no telling what would happen, so a quiet day with his best friend wasn’t a common occurrence. 

“You know that creepy, rusty jungle gym off of Vine Street?” Neil asked cheerily.

“Yeah? Why would we go there?”

“Last week you said there were a lot of ghost cats hanging out in the area, right? Well, I thought that since I’m allergic to cats and can’t pet them without getting hives, it would be a good idea to pet ghost cats instead!. Smart, right?” Neil grinned widely at Norman. “And you can tell me where the cats are so I can pet them!”

Norman stared at his friend, his place slowing, before he realized he was falling behind and had to walk faster to catch up. “Why don’t you just try and find a hypoallergenic cat to pet?”

“Well if you think about it… I sort of did! Besides, this way I get to hang out with my best friend too!”

Norman shook his head in amusement. 

Norman was reminded of the first day he spent time hanging out with Neil. Norman had pushed Neil away many times in his past, insisting that he would rather be alone, but one day the boy piqued his interest with an odd request. Neil had asked if Norman could see the ghost of his dead dog, Buddy, in his backyard. At the time, Norman was convinced that as soon as he told Neil he could see Buddy, Neil would freak out and ask him to leave. 

Instead, Neil asked Norman to help him play fetch with Buddy. That was the first time someone wasn’t freaked out by his abilities or assumed he was lying. It had also been the first time Norman noticed he liked being with someone over being alone. 

“Okay, sounds like fun,” Norman said. “Let’s see if the cats are still there.”

The ghost cats were still haunting the bushes around the old jungle gym when they arrived. Norman and Neil sat down on the steps of the jungle gym and Norman coaxed the cats over the best they could. The cats eagerly responded to him much quicker than a living cat would have, which was a perk of being a medium.

Norman instructed Neil on where and how to pet the cats. It took a few corrections from Norman, but eventually the cats seemed to settle down around them and Neil was able to pet them.

Neil seemed overjoyed by the experience even though he couldn’t see or feel the cats. Just the knowledge that there were cats around and he was petting them seemed to be enough for him. 

The sound of heavy breathing and gravel crunching underneath hurried feet distracted Norman and Neil from their activity. Norman looked up to see Mabel running down the road towards them, and in her arms she clutched something awkwardly to her chest.

“Hey… guys…” Mabel said breathlessly as she came to a stop in front of them. Her cheeks were red from exhaustion. Out of habit, Norman checked the road behind her. No monsters or strange creatures seemed to be chasing her. You can never be too careful in Gravity Falls. 

“Hi Mabel!” Neil said. “What’s wrong?”

“Oh nothing! Why would something be wrong?” Mabel said a little too forcefully. “Do you guys mind doing me a favor? I just need you to hold something for me. Better yet, why don’t I just put it in this bush here right beside you?” Mabel uncovered what she was holding in her oversized sweater arms. It was a medium sized brass teapot that looked like something his grandma’s grandma would have used. She carefully placed the teapot in the bush beside them. “There we go!” Mabel said brightly. “This way you don’t have to touch it, or accidentally rub it… or make any kind of wishes while touching it at all!”

“Uhh Mabel?” Norman asked.” What’s going on? Why did you just hide a teapot in a bush?”

“No reason whatsoever!” Mabel said with a too-wide smile. “You know me, just silly old Mabel doing silly, random things! Aren’t I just delightful to have around?” she asked with an overly loud giggle. 

“Umm…” Neil glanced at Norman in confusion. “Yes?” 

Mabel paused, staring down at Neil’s hand, which was stroking the air. She gasped, her mouth falling open in dismay. “You guys petting invisible animals and you didn’t invite me?!”

“Oh umm, they’re actually the ghosts of cats that haunt this area,” Norman explained.

Mabel’s eyes widened even further. “Awww ghost kitties! I want to join!”

“Sure!” Neil said. “Norman can tell you where the cats are-”

At this moment, shouts could be heard from down the street. Norman thought he heard Mabel’s name being called by an angry Coraline.

Mabel stood up straighter as she cast an anxious glance towards the shouting. 

“I have to go!” she said quickly. “If anyone asks about me, just tell them I’m either at Candy’s house or you saw me head back to the Shack!”

Before either of them could say anything, Mabel ran off in the opposite direction of Coraline’s shouts.

“So… that teapot,” Norman began, “there’s definitely a genie inside, right?”

Neil grinned. “Definitely! Do you think it’s one of those good genies that grants all your wishes like in Aladdin or one of those evil ones that try and twist your words?”

Norman shrugged. “It’s probably safest not to touch it until we know more about it.”

Neil nodded his head in agreement.

“Oh, you have a grey cat by your right foot,” Norman instructed.

“Here?”

“A little to your left- perfect.”

“Don’t you mean puuurfect?” Neil joked.

Norman rolled his eyes, but couldn’t hide his smile.

“Hey dorks,” a voice called out. They both looked up to see Coraline and Wybie walking toward them.

“Hey guys!” Neil greeted. “What’s up?”

“We’re looking for Mabel,” Coraline said as she glanced down the street, as if hoping to see the girl. “Have you guys seen her?”

“Oh umm,” Neil glanced nervously at Norman.

“She’s at the Shack-”

“She’s at Candy's house-” They both said at the same time.

Coraline stared at them, blinked once, and then narrowed her eyes. She took a step forward, her hands on her hips. “Are you guys covering for her?”

“Uhh, we’re not covering for anyone!” Neil said nervously as he looked anywhere but Coraline’s eyes. “Mabel was just uhh… at Candy’s house, but then we saw her run to the shack to get umm… a toothbrush?”

Norman has always suspected Neil was a bad liar, but now he could see first hand how bad he was.

“A toothbrush?” Coraline repeated, clearly not impressed. “In the middle of the day?”

“Yeah! Gotta fight that gum disease!” Neil said with a short, nervous laugh.

Coraline’s irritated glare caused Neil to shrink backwards, and Norman didn’t blame him. 

“I’m going to pretend that you didn’t just lie to my face. Now, it's important that we find Mabel,” Coraline said, unable to keep the frustration out of her voice. “We’ll fill you guys in later but right now we need to know where she went.”

“We really don’t know where she is, Coraline.” Norman said. “Honestly.”

Coraline’s frown deepened as she studied him.

“Come on, Jonsey. If they really don’t know then we’re just wasting time here,” Wybie said.

Slowly Coraline nodded. “Fine, let’s hurry before she gets too far.” Coraline cast a final suspicious look in their direction before running off with Wybie.

“Do you think we should have told them about the teapot?” Neil asked.

Norman shrugged. “Mabel must have her reason for leaving it with us. We should probably stay out of it until we know more.”

“Yeah, you‘re probably right. Besides, we’re doing something important right now.” 

Norman agreed. Spending time in Gravity Falls and being a mystery kid was fun and exciting, but sometimes a day off petting ghost cats with his best friend was just the break he needed.

“If someone else comes looking for Mabel, we should pretend like we haven’t seen her so we don’t seem suspicious,” Norman said.

“Okay, that’s a good idea. I think Coraline was onto us.”

Norman chuckled. “Yeah… I don’t think we fooled her.”

The two of them went back to petting the ghost cats. Norman noticed one of the cats was floating in Neil’s lap. After telling his friend this, Neil became so excited he started moving his legs a little too much. The ghost cat wasn’t jostled by the moment, since Neil’s legs would go right through it, but the cat seemed to dislike the movement all the same and left Neil’s lap to curl up on the ground beside them instead. Norman decided not to mention this change to Neil.

“So, what would you wish for?” Neil asked suddenly.

Norman looked up at him in confusion. 

“If you had a genie that wasn’t evil,” Neil explained. “What would you wish for?”

Norman shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Come on, there has to be something! Everyone has something they would wish for.”

“What would you wish for?” Norman asked. 

“That’s easy, I would wish to not be lactose intolerant. I love cheese too much, it’s not fair!”

Norman laughed. “That’s it? You wouldn’t wish for money or for a superpower or anything?”

“Oh, that’s a good idea! If I got more wishes I would wish for a super power! I would want to be able to fly! How about you?”

“I don’t think I would wish for a superpower. Talking to the dead is more than enough for me. I don’t think I could handle anything more,” he said ruefully. 

Neil gave him a concerned look, but before he could ask further, the sound of a familiar engine caught their attention. They looked up to see Dipper coming down the road in the Shack’s golf cart. 

“What do we say again?” Neil whispered in a panic. 

“Just act dumb, like we don’t know anything.”

“Hey guys,” Dipper said as he stopped the golf cart on the road next to them. “Have you two seen Mabel?”

“Uhh... whose Mabel?” Neil asked.

_Not that dumb, Neil!_

Dipper stared. “Mabel? My... sister? Are you okay?”

“He’s fine,” Norman said quickly. “What he means is we haven’t seen her.”

“Okay…“ Dipper said slowly, confused. “If you do, can you text me? She wants to set this creature free, which is nice and all, but we were still trying to figure out the consequences of doing that when she suddenly ran off with it.” Dipper rolled his eyes. “She did the same thing with the baby ducks in the petting zoo back in California.”

“Sure, we’ll text you if we see her,” Norman said. 

“Thanks!” Dipper hit the gas and drove down the road. 

“Nice save,” Neil said. “Maybe you should answer the next time someone asks about her.”

“Sure,” Norman said with a shrug. He didn’t mind, he was used to keeping secrets, and this one seemed pretty harmless. The teapot was probably safer in the bush than in the hands of Mabel or any of the kids while they fought over what they should do with it.

“So…” Neil said.

“So what?”

“So if not super powers, what would you wish for? There has to be something.”

Norman shrugged again. “I’m not sure. There’s nothing I really want.”

“You wouldn’t…” Neil started, a worried look crossing his face. “You wouldn’t wish to get rid of your powers, would you?”

That gave Norman pause.

“How could you even think about that?” Neil asked, his eyes wide with panic, as he leaned forward. “Your gift is so awesome!”

Norman shook his head. “Maybe… maybe a few years ago I would have wished to get rid of my gift. When I first started talking back to ghosts it was a nightmare. Everyone thought I was lying or a freak. And a lot of the ghosts wanted something from me and I felt like I couldn’t handle the responsibility. I just wanted to be normal.”

“What changed?”

Norman smiled. “I made a friend who didn’t care that I could talk to ghosts. Actually he thought it was really cool that I could help him play fetch with his dog’s ghost in his yard.”

Neil sat back, a wide grin on his face. ”It _was_ cool,” he stressed. “Who doesn’t want to play with ghost animals?”

Normal laughed. “Lots of people, Neil.”

“Well then they’re missing out!”

Norman shook his head. “Then I was able to help Aggie,” Norman continued, “and I finally felt like I could do some real good with my gift. After that, I came to Gravity Falls and met people ever weirder than me.”

“I’m going to take that as a compliment,” Raz said.

Norman and Neil looked up to see Raz and Lili walking down the road together.

“Who wants to be normal anyway?” Lili said, making a face.

“Oh, hey guys,” Norman greeted with a slight blush. “Are you guys looking for Mabel too?”

Raz blinked in surprise. “You heard about that? Yeah, we’ve been looking all over. Do you know where she is?”

Norman shook his head. “No. And we told the others we hadn’t seen her.” It technically wasn’t a lie.

“Oh great!” Lili groaned in frustration. “Well, she couldn’t have just disappeared! Come on Raz, let’s go regroup with Coraline.”

“Lead the way. You guys coming?” he asked Norman and Neil.

“Not yet,” Norman said. “We’re going to hang out here for a bit longer.”

Raz shrugged. “Suit yourself. See you later!”

When Raz and Lili were out of hearing range, Neil let out a relieved sigh. 

“How did you do that? They weren’t suspicious at all!” Neil asked.

Norman shrugged. “I’ve learned that when you’re hiding something it's better to not say very much. It’s best to try and blend in and not give out too much information, or to make up too many lies. Not that I was ever really good at blending in at school.”

“I’m glad you stuck out, even though you didn’t want to. If I didn’t know who you were, I probably wouldn’t have tried to be your friend,” Neil said. 

“That’s true.” Norman paused for a moment, thinking back to when he finally allowed himself to let Neil in, and how utterly lonely he had been when he told himself he didn’t need friends.”

“I think I know what I would wish for,” Norman said suddenly. 

“You do? What?”

“We might never have become best friends if it wasn’t for Aggie’s curse, but I wish it hadn’t taken a vengeful poltergeist for me to see what a good friend you are. I wish we could have been friends even earlier, like in Elementary School. I would have been a lot less lonely.”

Neil smiled at that. “That’s a good wish. I wish we were friends back then too. ”

“... but let’s not actually make those wishes,” Norman said, glancing nervously at the bush.

Neil shook his head vigorously. “No way, I’m optimistic not crazy”

Norman nodded in agreement. They had been in Gravity Falls long enough to know that if something seemed too good to be true, it was probably deadly, cursed, or hatching a plot to make Mabel it’s queen.

“Besides, we’re friends now and that’s what matters!” Neil said. 

They heard shouts from the end of the street followed by the sounds of footsteps running fast down a gravel road.

“There she is! Mabel!” They heard Dipper shout.

“Come back here!” Coraline demanded.

A purple blur rushed by where Norman and Neil had been sitting.

“You’ll never catch me alive!” The purple blur shouted, practically cackling as she ran.

Not long afterwards, there was a sound of an engine starting and then a golf cart went flying by, the seats full of their other friends, quickly gaining on Mabel.

“Should we go help now?” Neil asked.

Norman stood and took off his red jacket. “Yeah, I think we should.”

He pushed the branches of the bush away before wrapping his jacket around the teapot so he didn’t have to touch it. After all, you can never be too careful in Gravity Falls. 

“Let’s hurry before they kill each other,” Norman said as he lifted the bundle into his arms. “And no more wishing, just in case.”

“No problem. Besides, I really like how we became friends. Nothing says best friends forever like curses, magic and adventure.”

“That’s true. Come to think of it, that’s how I make all of my friends,” Norman said with a small laugh of disbelief. “That’s definitely not normal.”

“Nope,” Neil agreed with a matching grin of his own. “And that’s what makes it awesome!” 

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly, I have no idea what this was, but it was fun to write Norman and Neil. I was actually in the middle of reading the Paranorman book when I started this, so I was primed to write something with Norman and Neil.
> 
> More Mystery Kid stuff on my tumblr [ mysterykidscasefiles.](http://mysterykidscasefiles.tumblr.com/)


End file.
